This divine prison
of the love with whom I live
made of God my captive
and freed my heart.
To see God as my prisoner
causes such passion in me
that I am dying of not dying.
Look now at the face which is closest to that of Christ because only its light can prepare you to perceive Christ. I found it, that face, shining with such a happiness that nothing I had seen thus far had filled me with so great an enchantment and offered me an image so similar to that of God... O Virgin, mother and daughter of your Son, humble and higher than all other creatures,... you are the one who ennobles our human nature... In your womb the fire of love was relit... You are for us the torch of love's high noon.
-01 Opening Doxology; Great Litany (00:10)
-02 Short Litany; Second Antiphon; Short Litany (05:28.33)
-03 Lesser Entance; Traporia 'Gospodi...'; Trisagon 'Svyati Boze' (10:02.26)
-04 Prokimenon; Alleluia; Gospel reading (13:34.04)
-05 Petitions and Prayers for the Faithful; Prayer for the Catechumens; Dismissal of the Catechumens; Prayer of the Faithful (14:42.71)
-06 Cherubikon [Cherubic Hymn]; Greater Entrance (23:39.18)
-07 Litany for the Offertory; The Kiss of Peace (31:04.48)
-08 The Creed [Credo] (34:47.10)
-09 Eucharistic Prayer: Preface; Sanctus (38:52.43)
-10 The Consecration (42:08.59)
-11 The Epiclesis; Hymn to the Mother of God (46:11.88)
-12 Prayer of Intercession (50:57.71)
-13 Otche nash [The Lord's Prayer]; The Elevation (54:59.46)
-14 Communion Hymn (58:34.75)
-15 The Holy Communion of the faithful; The Eucharistic Gifts are carried to the Prothesis; Thanksgiving; Closing Prayer; Blessing; Dismissal (1:00:43.59)
Fra coloro che si amano si squarcia la cortina dell'aseità e ciascuno vede nell'amico come se stesso, la sua propria essenza più intima, il suo alter ego che poi non è diverso dall'Io. L'amico viene accolto nell'Io, viene da lui accettato nel significato più profondo del termine. viene ammesso nella struttura dell'amante alla quale non riesce estraneo e dalla quale non viene respinto. Come la madre accoglie il figlio, così l'amante accoglie l'amato nel suo seno e lo porta sotto il cuore...
L'Io amico è accolto nell'anima e così confluiscono due correnti vive. Questa unità vitale si ottiene non asservendo una persona a un'altra e nemmeno con la servitù cosciente dell'una di fronte all'altra. L'unità amicale non può neanche essere chiamata concessione, remissività, perché è appunto unità. L'uno sente, desidera, pensa e parla così non perché così ha sentito, desiderato, pensato e parlato l'altro, ma perché ambedue provano un unico sentimento, nutrono un'unica verità, pensano un unico pensiero, parlano a una voce. Ciascuno vive dell'altro, o meglio la vita dell'uno e dell'altro scaturisce da un unico e comune centro che gli amici con sforzo ascetico creativo pongono davanti a sé.
Il Singnore interrogato da uno: "Quando verrà il tuo Regno?", rispose: "Quando due saranno uno e l'esterno come l'interno e il maschile insieme al femminile e non maschio e femmina"...
"Due sono uno"; quando si dicessero l'un l'altro la verità, ci sarebbe sinceramente un'anima sola anche in due corpi. "E l'esterno come l'interno" significa che (Cristo) chiama interno l'anima ed esterno il corpo, quindi in qualsiasi modo si renderà visibile il tuo corpo, così anch la tua anima sarà visibile nelle tue opere belle. "E il maschile e il femminile saranno né maschio né femmina" significa che il fratello, vedendo la sorella, non penserà a lei donna (cioè alla sua femminilità, a lei come donna) e lei non penserà a lui maschio (cioè in quanto maschio). "Quando farete questo", egli dice, "verra il Regno del Padre mio."
"È un sacramento d'amore che li invia a due a due, sia perché due sono i comandamenti dell'amore, sia perché l'amore non può sussistere tra meno di due persone - Quod autem binos mittit, sacramentum est caritatis, sive quia duo sunt caritatis praecepta, sive quia omnis caritas minus quam inter duos esse non postest"
"... il padrone lodò quell'iniquo amministratore perché aveva agito con scaltrezza; poiché i figli di questo mondo sono, nell'agire con i loro simili, più scaltri dei figli della luce" (Lc 16, 8). Perondando ingiustamente i peccati altrui noi, inguisti "figli di questo mondo" ci giustifichiamo più di quanto possano giustificare se stessi i giusti, "figli della luce", quando condannano giustamente i peccati altrui...
Così anche la possibilità di coprire i peccati con la misericordia e la bonta di Dio non ci appartiene e diventa per noi una "richezza iniqua" se ce ne appropriamo. Ma siccome tutto il tempo non facciamo altro che dissipare questa richezza per nostro tornaconto, per coprire i nostri peccati, l'unica cosa che ci resta da fare (come misura precauzionale, nel caso ci venisse tolta la ricchezza della misericordia divina) è assicurarsi un posto nel cuore degli altri, "nelle dimore eterne", e allora il Signore forse loderà la nostra accortezza. Questo assicurarsi un posto non è altro che il crearsi legami d'amicizia. Il Salvatore spiega così la parabola: "E io vi dico: procuratevi amici con la disonesta richezza, affinché quando verrà a mancare, essi vi accolgano nelle eterne dimore (Lc 16,9).
Pavel Aleksandrovič Florenskij
"Il Singore non ha detto: Da', oppure: Fa' beneficenza, oppure: Aiuta, ma: Fatti amico, perché l'amicizia si esprime nel pieno sacrificio di sé e nella continuata vita in comune e non nel solo dare."
Volto materno di Dio sulla terra, donna mistero che porti il Signore, fra le tue braccia, suo trono regale, è la Sapienza di Dio con noi.
Benedetta sei tu,
Maria, nostra sorella,
Figlia di Sion.
Benedetta sei tu,
Maria, piena di grazia,
Madre di Dio. Volto materno di Dio sulla terra...
Vergina amata da Dio Signore,
pura bellezza che il cielo traspare,
tu sei la via che porta all’incontro
con il Messia dell’umanità. Volto materno di Dio sulla terra...
Giovane madre di Cristo e del mondo,
nostra signora che rechi la pace,
hai conosciuto l’amore infinito,
la tenerezza di Dio per noi. Volto materno di Dio sulla terra...
Prima creatura del regno dei cieli,
Eva obbediente che ospiti il Verbo,
nobile icona tu sei della Chiesa,
nuova dimora di Dio con noi. Volto materno di Dio sulla terra...
Farò della mia anima uno scrigno per la tua anima, del mio cuore una dimora per la tua bellezza, del mio petto un sepolcro per le tue pene.
Ti amerò come le praterie amano la primavera,
e vivrò in te la vita di un fiore
sotto i raggi del sole.
Canterò il tuo nome come la valle
canta l'eco delle campane; ascolterò il linguaggio della tua anima come la spiaggia ascolta la storia delle onde.
Averla senza possederla.
Dare il meglio di sé senza pensare di ricevere.
Voler stare spesso con lei,
ma senza essere mossi dal bisogno
di alleviare la propria solitudine.
Temere di perderla,
ma senza essere gelosi.
Aver bisogno di lei,
ma senza dipendere.
Aiutarla, ma senza aspettarsi gratitudine.
Essere legati a lei,
pur essendo liberi.
Essere un tutt'uno con lei,
pur essendo se stessi.
Ma per riuscire in tutto ciò,
la cosa più importante da fare è...
accettarla così com'è,
senza pretendere che sia come si vorrebbe.
saperti in difficoltà
e non poterti soccorrere
saperti caduto
e non poterti rialzare
saperti ferito
e non poterti medicare
saperti triste
e non poterti rallegrare
saperti deluso
e non poterti rincuorare
saperti in lacrime
e non poterti consolare
saperti al freddo
e non poterti scaldare
saperti solo
e non poterti raggiungere
esserti amico
e poter accettare
tu non mi voglia
mai considerare tale.
Per vivere tra i fratelli bisogna avere un Amico, anche lontano; per avere un Amico bisogna vivere tra i fratelli, per lo meno essere tra loro in ispirito. Infatti per poter trattare tutti come se stessi, bisogna vedere e sentire se stessi almeno in uno, bisogna in quest'uno percepire la vittoria già ottenuta, anche se parziale, sull'aseità. L'Amico è proprio quest'uno, e l'amore agapico per lui è conseguenza dell'amore di filia per lui. D'altra parte perché l'amore di filia per l'amico non degeneri in una specie di amore di se stessi, perché l'amico non diventi semplicemente condizione per una vita comoda, perché l'amicizia possegga profondità, è indispensabile l'amore agapico per i fratelli.
It has been more than 25 years since Martin Luther King was assassinated and, not infrequently, I recall his funeral. It was not like I was there or anything, I only watched it on television, but a little sub-drama occurred just as the television cameras were leaving the cemetery that etched itself permanently into my consciousness and still speaks to me of faith and fidelity.
The grave-side ceremony had just taken place and the last eulogies and prayers had been given. The television cameras were being rolled away when they caught sight of an old man, a Black, perhaps 75 years old, standing outside the cemetery. Reporters tend to be merciless when they see tears and so a couple of microphones and cameras descended upon this solitary old man as he cried his tears.
"Why are you crying? Why are you sad at this man's death? What did Martin Luther King mean to you?" they asked.
Choking back tears, the old man replied: "He was a good man, a faithful man. He and Malcolm X. He stayed with us. He never gave up on us even when we gave up on ourselves. He stayed with us even when we weren't worth staying with!"
I doubt that one could write a better description of faith than is contained in the words of this old man. Faith, first of all, is about fidelity, about being faithful, about not giving up on our commitments and our communities. Conversely, infidelity is more about the betrayal of these than it is about having haunting doubts about the existence of God. Thus, to use an example I used in this column some time back: If I lie in bed some night and am plagued by doubts because I cannot imagine or feel for myself the existence of God and, on some other night, I lie on the same bed and can sense, with considerable feeling and security, God's existence, does this mean that on the first of those nights I have a weak faith and on the latter I have a strong one?
No. It means is that on the first of those nights I have a weak imagination and on the other night I have a strong one. Faith, ultimately, does not depend on the imagination, even though the imagination can be helpful. Faith test is in action, in being faith-ful. It is no accident that the word faith-ful literally says to be full of faith.
Daniel Berrigan, always colourful and always deep, has his own way of putting this. Asked in an interview to pinpoint faith's deepest seat, he states something to this effect: Where does your faith reside? Your faith is rarely where your head is at. It is also rarely where your heart is at. Your faith is where you ass is at? Where are you sitting? What are your hands doing? What are you involved in? What are your commitments? Are you faithful to anything? That will show, or not show, the quality of your faith.
The real problem of atheism and lack of faith today lies, I submit, more in our infidelity (in walking away from our relationships, our commitments, our values, and our communities when these get painful) than it does in the secularism that so often deprives us of a felt-presence of God. We have a weak faith because we are so rarely faithful. It is not so much that we turn away from God as it is that we turn away from each other. My faith is weak not so much when I cannot imagine the existence of God, but when I walk away from community, ecclesial and civil, with the despairing attitude: "They aren't worth it! They aren't worth staying with!" We lose faith when we give up. It is significant that Jesus stated that the person who perseveres to the end will be saved.
Perhaps the greatest gift we can give to our families, our world, and our church is the gift of our fidelity - to say to them: "You can rely on me. I won't always be perfect, but I will be here. We won't always get along with each other and there will be times, many times, when there will be every kind of tension, jealousy, pettiness, and immaturity between us. But I won't walk away from you. I won't leave, in spite of everything. I'll stay with you." That's what it means to have faith.
And ... when they lower the casket at our funerals, there is no better eulogy that could be given than if those nearest us, with gratitude in their hearts (if not with tears in their eyes), turn to each other and say: "She [he] was a good person because she stayed with us, she was faithful. She believed in us even when we had stopped believing in ourselves. She stayed with us even when we weren't worth staying with.
'Oh, Aslan!' cried both children, staring up at him....
'Aren't you dead then, dear Aslan?' said Lucy.
'Not now,' said Aslan....
'Oh, you're real, you're real! Oh, Aslan!' cried Lucy and both girls flung themselves upon him and covered him with kisses...
'Oh, children,' said the Lion, 'I feel my strength coming back to me. Oh, children, catch me if you can!' He stood for a second, his eyes very bright, his limbs quivering, lashing himself with his tail. Then he made a leap high over their heads and landed on the other side of the Table. Laughing, though she didn't know why, Lucy scrambled over to reach him. Aslan leaped again. A mad chase began. Round and round the hill-top he led them, now hopelessly out of their reach, now letting them almost catch his tail, now diving between them, now tossing them in the air with his huge and beautifully velveted paws, and catching them again, and now stopping unexpectedly so that all three of them rolled over together in a happy laughing heap of fun and arms and legs. It was such a romp as no one ever had except in Narnia; and whether it was more like playing with a thunderstorm or playing with a kitten Lucy could never make up her mind.
(Flower of Carmel)
13th-century hymn to Our Lady attributed to the Carmelite St. Simon Stock
Flower of Carmel, tall vine, blossom-laden;
splendour of heaven, child-bearing, yet maiden;
none equals thee.
Mother so tender, whom no man didst know,
on Carmel's children thy favours bestow; Star of the Sea!
Strong stem of Jesse, who bore one bright flower,
be ever near us, and guard us each hour,
who serve thee here.
Purest of lilies, that flowers among thorns,
bring help to true hearts that in weakness turn
and trust in thee.
Strongest of armour, we trust in thy might,
under thy mantle, hard pressed in the fight,
we call to thee.
Our way, uncertain, surrounded by foes,
unfailing counsel you offer to those
who turn to thee.
O gentle Mother, who in Carmel reigns,
share with your servants that gladness you gained,
and now enjoy.
Hail, gate of heaven, with glory now crowned,
bring us to safety, where thy Son is found,
true joy to see.
V. Holy Mary, Mother of Christ, hear the cry of your servants.
R. And bring down heavenly aid in answer to our prayer.
Let us pray:
By a special privilege, Lord, you have adorned the Carmelite Order with the
name of your Mother, the most glorious Virgin Mary. Grant as we faithfully
remember this honour, that in these days we may receive her protection and
in the days to come we may be brought to everlasting happiness. This we ask
of you who are living and reigning for ever. Amen.
Looking up at the stars, I know quite well
That, for all they care, I can go to hell,
But on earth indifference is the least We have to dread from man or beast.
How should we like it were stars to burn With a passion for us we could not return? If equal affection cannot be, Let the more loving one be me.
Admirer as I think I am
Of stars that do not give a damn,
I cannot, now I see them, say
I missed one terribly all day.
Were all stars to disappear or die, I should learn to look at an empty sky And feel its total dark sublime, Though this might take me a little time.
...the waters do not gush with the same force from her who loves and from love, from the soul and from the Word, from the Bride and from the Bridegroom, from the creature and the Creator. The difference is no less great than that which exists between a thirsty being and the fountain... But even if the creature loves less because of its limitations, as long as it loves with all its being, nothing is missing from this love.
O Beautiful Flower of Carmel, most fruitful vine, splendor of heaven, holy and singular, who brought forth the Son of God, still ever remaining a pure virgin, assist us in our necessity! O Star of the Sea, help and protect us! Show us that you are our Mother!
I sing thy grace, O Sovereign Lady, and pray to thee to grace my mind. Teach me to step right in the way of Christ's commandments. Strengthen me to keep awake in song and dispel the dream of despondency. Release me, bound with bonds of sin, O bride of God, by thy prayers. Guard me by night and also by day, and drive away my foes who defeat me. O Bearer of God, the Giver of Life, enliven me who am deadened by passions. O bearer of the unfailing Light, enlighten my blinded soul. O Marvellous Palace of the Master, make me a house of the Divine Spirit. O Mother of the Healer, heal the perennial passions of my soul. Guide me to the path of repentance, for I am tossed in the storm of life. Deliver me from eternal fire, from wicked war and from hell. Expose me guilty as I am of many sins. Renew me, grown old from senseless sins, O most Immaculate One. Present me untouched by all torments, and pray for me to the Lord of all. Grant me to receive the joys of Heaven with all the Saints. O most holy Virgin, hear the voice of thy unprofitable servant. Grant me torrents of tears, O most Pure One, to cleanse my soul from impurity. I offer the groans of my heart to Thee unceasingly. Strive for me, O Sovereign Lady. Accept my service of supplication and offer it to compassionate God. O thou who art above the Angels, raise me above this world's confusion. O Light-bearing heavenly Tabernacle, direct the grace of the Spirit in me. I raise my hands and lips in thy praise, defiled as they are by impurity, O All-Immaculate One. Deliver me from soul-corrupting evils, and fervently intercede to Christ to Whom is due honour with adoration, now and ever, and to the ages of ages. Amen.
You must know, my sweet little girl, my poor child, that he simply pretended to go away... Now he is present in some obscure corner of this ivory tower, where you made him so happy. Listen,... this happy thing, which makes you blush and shiver like childish lips touching your heart, it is he.
It is enough for me to withdraw within my heart to find him again and to cease being where he is not. Paul Claudel
Quando ci coglie il sospetto che il vino nuovo rompa gli otri vecchi, donaci l'avvedutezza di sostituire i contenitori. Quando prevale in noi il fascino dello "status quo", rendici tanto risoluti da abbandonare gli accampamenti. Se accusiamo cadute di tensione, accendi nel nostro cuore dei passi. E facci comprendere che la chiusura alla novità dello Spirito e l'adattamento agli orizzonti dai bassi profili ci offrono solo la malinconia della senescenza precoce.
Santa Maria, donna del vino nuovo, noi ti ringraziamo, infine, perché con le parole "fate tutto quello che egli vi dirà", tu ci sveli il misterioso segreto della giovinezza.
E ci affidi il potere di svegliare l'aurora anche nel cuore della notte.
"I watch, and am as a sparrow alone upon the house top" (Psalm 102:7)
The sparrow is one of the most common birds on earth. Wherever you go you will be sure to see and hear them. The sparrow is a cheerful little bird and it is only really happy when it has company. But in Psalm 102:7 we find a lonely sparrow. The Psalmist, usually so joyful in the Lord, is feeling depressed, distressed and forsaken. He feels just like a lonely sparrow.
V1: Let's just sit here, you and me. Nothing can go wrong.
Though strangers we may be, we sing the same song.
The wind is beautiful; it beckons a flight,
But time is critical; it beckons the fight.
CH: Hello lonely bird, finding your way.
Loss of vision, hard decisions, along the way.
Hello lonely bird, what do you say?
Make a nest, sit alone, or fly away.
Make a nest, sit alone, or fly away.
V2: Stormy clouds give way to rain. The right path seems to fade.
They fear just what we'd gain if we chose to forbade
The chains that hold us down. The world to explore
Is simply what we've found needed to restore our sound.
Come quando mi addormento
In macchina con te
Perché so che tu sai stare sveglia
Così non chiudo i miei casseti
Quando vado via
Perché so che tu non li aprirai
Da subito
Mi fiderò
È semplice
È chiaro già
Nel primo sguardo c'è una verità
Dal primo sguardo sento se varrà la pena
Subito
Si merita
Non voglio più
Nascondermi
Nel primo sguardo c'è una verità
Dal primo sguardo so che lo farò
Mi fiderò
Come quando io mi lancio
E voglio che sia tu
A preparare il mio paracadute
Senza pose
Senza trucco
Mi presento a te
Perché so che non giudicherai
Da subito
Mi fiderò
È semplice
È chiaro già
Nel primo sguardo c'è una verità
Dal primo sguardo sento se varrà la pena
Subito (subito)
La verità
Non voglio più
Diffendermi
Nel primo sguardo c'è una verita
Dal primo sguardo so che lo farò
Mi fiderò
Subito
So scegliere per me
E amare quel che ho
Capire se c'è un rischio
Quanto poi io rischierò
Lo sai sono così
L'instinto mio è così
Da subito
Nel primo sguardo c'è una verità
Dal primo sguardo sento se varrà la pena
Subito (subito)
È semplice
Aspeto un po'
Ma lo so già
Nel primo sguardo c'è una verità
Dal primo sguardo so che lo farò
Mi fiderò
Da subito
Da subito
Da subito
Hello darkness, my old friend
I've come to talk with you again
Because a vision softly creeping
Left its seeds while I was sleeping
And the vision that was planted in my brain
Still remains
Within the sound of silence
In restless dreams I walked alone
Narrow streets of cobblestone
'Neath the halo of a street lamp
I turned my collar to the cold and damp
When my eyes were stabbed by the flash of a neon light
That split the night
And touched the sound of silence
And in the naked light I saw
Ten thousand people, maybe more
People talking without speaking
People hearing without listening
People writing songs that voices never share
And no one dared
Disturb the sound of silence
"Fools", said "'Ah you do not know
Silence like a cancer grows
Hear my words that I might teach you
Take my arms that I might reach you"
But my words, like silent raindrops fell
And echoed
In the wells of silence
And the people bowed and prayed
To the neon god they made
And the sign flashed out its warning
In the words that it was forming
And the sign said, "The words of the prophets are written on the subway walls
And tenement halls"
And whispered in the sounds of silence
"The Bridegroom hides when he is sought, so that, not finding him, the Bride may seek him with a renewed ardour; and the Bride is hampered in her search so that this delay may increase the capacity for God, and that she may find one day more fully what she was seeking."
Gregory the Great
"God, by making us wait, stretches desire. Stretching desire, he stretches the soul. Stretching the soul, he makes it capable of receiving... Such is our life: we must endeavour to desire."
Augustine
"God wants the delay in pleasure to set afire the desire [of the soul] so that together with this ardour his joy may also increase,... [so that one can go so far as to say that] finding God means to seek him continually... This is truly seeing God when one is not sated in desiring him... God is eternally sought."
Gregory of Nyssa
"As soon as the Word appears after many vigils and endless prayers, long works and torrents of tears, he escapes all of a sudden, just when you thought that you could securely possess him. At another time, he will come close to the one who weeps and runs after him; he lets himself be possessed for a while, but not to be kept forever, for just a moment later, he flees and escapes."
Bernard of Clairvaux
"Where did you hide, friend,
Who left me in mourning?
Like a hind you fled,
Leaving me desolate,
Crying, I went out after you,
And you were gone."
John of the Cross
One day the grandson of Rabbi Baruch was playing hide-and-seek with another little boy. He hid, but the other refused to seek him and left. The child went to complain to his grandfather. Then, his own eyes full of tears, Rabbi Baruch cried: "God says the same thing. I hide, but no one comes to seek me.
A lonely shepherd goes in pain.
No pleasure or joy for him,
For always he thinks about his shepherdess,
And his heart is heavy with love.
He does not weep because of love's wound
For this is not the pain
Though pain is gripping his heart,
He weeps, thinking himself forgotten.
This very thought of being forgotten
By his shepherdess, is his great pain.
He is so outraged in a remote land
And heartbroken with love.
Alas, says the shepherd, how unhappy the one
Whose love chases him away so far from her heart.
She did not want to enjoy my presence,
And left my heart so crushed with love.
Then, after a long time, slowly,
He climbed on a tree, stretched his beautiful arms,
And died, held fast by those arms,
Heartbroken with love.
I love, I love, I love, I love the way you hold me
I love, I love, I love, I love the way you hold me
I love, I love, I love, I love the way you, the way you
I've had a long day, I just wanna relax
Don't have time for my friends, no time to chit chat
Problems at my job, wonderin' what to do
I know I should be working but I'm thinking of you and
Just when I feel this crazy world is gonna bring me down
That's when your smile comes around
Oh, I love the way you hold me, by my side you'll always be
You take each and every day, make it special in some way
I love the way you hold me, in your arms I'll always be
You take each and every day, make it special in some way
I love you more than the words in my brain can express
I can't imagine even loving you less
Lord, I love the way you hold me
Whoa, oh, I love the way you hold me
Whoa, oh
Well ya, took my day and you flipped it around
Calmed the tidal wave and put my feet on the ground
Forever in my heart, always on my mind
It's crazy how I think about you all of the time
And just when I think I'm 'bout to figure you out
You make me wanna sing and shout
I love the way you hold me, by my side you'll always be
You take each and every day, make it special in some way
I love the way you hold me, in your arms I'll always be
You take each and every day, make it special in some way
I love you more than the words in my brain can express
I can't imagine even loving you less
Lord, I love the way you hold me
Whoa, oh, I love the way you hold me
Whoa, oh
I'm so grateful and thankful for all you've done
Wish I could tell you in a short story or poem
But all I have is my voice and this guitar
And you have my heart
Oh, I love the way you hold me, by my side you'll always be
You take each and every day, make it special in some way
I love the way you hold me, in your arms I'll always be
You take each and every day, every day, every
I love the way you hold me, by my side you'll always be
You take each and every day oh-so-special
I love the way you hold me, in your arms I'll always be
You take each and every day, make it special in some way
I love you more than the words in my brain can express
I can't imagine even loving you less
Lord, I love the way you hold me
Whoa, oh, I love the way you hold me
Whoa, oh
Oh, I love
I love, I love, I love, I love the way you hold me
I love, I love, I love, I love the way you hold me
I love, I love, I love, I love the way you hold me, hold me, hold me
Solo nel silenzio maturano le crescite decisive della vita: la conversione, l'amore, il sacrificio...
Donna di poche parole, perché, afferrata dalla Parola, ne ha così vissuta la lancinante essenzialità, da saper distinguere senza molta fatica il genuino tra mille surrogati, il panno forte nella sporta degli straccivendoli, la voce autentica in una libreria di apocrifi, il quadro d'autore nel cumulo delle contraffazioni.
Nessun linguaggio umano deve essere stato così pregnante come quello di Maria. Fatto di monosillabi, veloci come un 'sì'. O di sussuri, brevi come un 'fiat'. O di abbandoni, totali come un 'amen'. O di riverberi biblici, ricuciti dal filo di una sapienza antica, alimentata da fecondi silenzi...
Santa Maria, donna senza retorica, prega per noi peccatori, sulle cui labbra la parola si sfarina in un turbine di suoni senza costrutto. Si sfalda in mille squame di accenti disperati. Si fa voce, ma senza farsi mai carne. Ci riempie la bocca, ma lascia vuoto il grembo. Ci dà l'illusione della comunione, ma non raggiunge neppure la dignità del soliloquio. E anche dopo che ne abbiamo pronunciato tante, perfino con eleganza e a getto continuo, ci lascia nella pena di una indicibile aridità: come i mascheroni di certe fontane che non danno più acqua e sul cui volto è rimasta soltanto la contrazione del ghigno.
Santa Maria, donna senza retorica, la cui sovrumana grandezza è sorpresa al rapidissimo fremito di un 'fiat', prega per noi peccatori, perennemente esposti, tra convalescenze e ricadute, all'intossicazione di parole.
Proteggi le nostre labbra dai gonfiori inutili. Fa' che le nostre voci, ridotte all'essenziale, partano sempre dai recinti del mistero e rechino il profumo del silenzio.
Rendici, come te, sacramento della trasparenza.
E aiutaci, finalmente, perché nella brevità di un 'sì' detto a Dio, ci sia dolce naufragare: come un mare sterminato.
